This image is from late last summer when we were having dinner on the water in Annapolis. Just got around to painting it yesterday and today. Lemon yellow mixed with yellow ochre to get the sunlight. The rest is indigo and sepia. The highlights on the posts are white and yellow ochre dry brushed on. I will probably do this again with a different palette to get more subtly of light and color.

I generally work in limited palettes of 3-5 colors, but I’ve been having fun recently scaling it back even further to either sepia or indigo with an accent or two. This one is all Daniel Smith indigo and Winsor & Newton burnt sienna. I like this combination. Muted and good for value studies, but with a little more interest. With spring here early, I will probably be getting more colorful soon, but it is nice and relaxing to pick a single subject and focus on it patiently with a simple palette. Not something I have been able to do much of recently.

I painted this small cup on 6×6 Fabriano Artistico 90 lb paper entirely with an Isabey pocket squirrel mop. It carries a lot of water and pigment, and is good for washes and details. It is about the same size as a Da Vinci Maestro #6, but seems to hold more water. This might now be my favorite brush, at least for smaller works. Very versatile, and covers more than its small size would sugggest.